Inter Milan manager Simone Inzaghi has spoken of his admiration for Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone ahead of their maiden meeting as coaches.
The duo shared a dressing room at Lazio and helped the Rome club win Serie A in 2000 during a trophy-laden era under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Tuesday will see the pair do battle in the dugout as Inter host Atletico in the first leg of a Champions League last-16 tie at the San Siro.
“It will be a pleasure to see him again,” Inzaghi told a press conference.
“He was a great team-mate. Then he went back to Spain, but we always kept in touch.
“I’ve always known he would become a great coach. He’s been 13 years with the same club and he has won a lot.
“I know how difficult it is to stay with the same club for so many years. He had great results with Atletico. He has great charisma but that’s not it, his team play great football.”
Simeone has traditionally been associated with pragmatic, defensive football during his successful period in Madrid and while Atletico have lost ground in the LaLiga title race in recent weeks, they are in the last four of the Copa del Rey.
Inzaghi revealed he had closely analysed Atletico’s last four fixtures, which includes a 5-0 thrashing of Las Palmas, defeats to Sevilla and Athletic Bilbao and a draw at Real Madrid, but knows it will be hard to predict what type of fixture will occur on Tuesday night.
He added: “Each coach has their own approach. I appreciate him a lot.
“I watched Atletico this year and I can only say they play great football but I cannot tell you what type of game it will be tomorrow because both teams will fight for it.
“Atletico have changed style, they were very aggressive in the last game they played but against Real Madrid they had a different attitude. They pass the ball a lot more than before.
“We will do our best tomorrow. There will be a great atmosphere, we are looking forward to playing this game and as usual playing our type of football.”
Inter enter this fixture in a rich vein of form and having won all eight matches in 2024.
Recent league successes over Roma and Juventus have helped open up a nine-point advantage at the Serie A summit, but Inzaghi does not feel that will impact their Champions League campaign.
View this post on InstagramInzaghi’s team were runners-up to Manchester City last season and have already secured silverware this term with Super Cup success last month.
“Having this advantage doesn’t really give us an extra advantage in the Champions League,” Inzaghi said.
“We have experienced magic nights together with our supporters and we want a repeat but we know that other clubs have the same ambitions as Inter.
“I saw Atletico in the last four games and they are always strong. We will do our best tomorrow.”
Francesco Acerbi, Stefan Sensi and Juan Cuadrado are unavailable for Inter.
Kompany relishing 'special game' when Bayern travel to Frankfurt
Vincent Kompany is relishing a "special game" when Bayern Munich face Eintracht Frankfurt in a battle of the Bundesliga's top two teams on Sunday.
Bayern top the table with 13 points after their first five games, with Eintracht just a point behind after recovering from losing their opener with four straight wins.
However, Kompany's side travel to Deutsche Bank Park seeking a response after two winless games.
After their perfect start to the Bundesliga campaign was ended by a 1-1 draw with reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen, they went down 1-0 to Aston Villa in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Nevertheless, Kompany is only looking forward.
"It is a special game in Frankfurt against a very tough team," he told reporters during his pre-match press conference. "They have a lot of young players with a lot of talent, so the team can grow.
"For us, it is a normal game. We have to get our points and keep going in the Bundesliga. I am only focused on the next game.
"It is always important after every game, win or lose, to say the game is now behind us and now comes the next game. We have a lot to take into our next game and that should be the reason for our success."
Once again, Bayern will be without Jamal Musiala, who remains sidelined with a hip injury, and Kompany hopes to have the Germany attacking midfielder available as soon as possible.
"We know how good and how important Jamal is for the club and Germany," the Bayern head coach added. "He is a young player and our total priority is to get him back fit and stay fit."
Napoli 3-1 Como: Lukaku and McTominay on target to extend hosts' Serie A lead
Romelu Lukaku continued his fine start to life at Napoli as the Belgian notched a goal and two assists in his side's 3-1 win over Como on Friday.
The hosts found themselves ahead with just 26 seconds on the clock when Scott McTominay was picked out by Lukaku, with the Scotland international firing home his first goal for Gli Azzurri off the post.
But Como would draw themselves level two minutes before the break when Gabriel Strefezza's strike from distance rifled into the bottom corner.
However, Antonio Conte's side needed just eight minutes after the interval to restore their advantage when Sergi Roberto brought down Mathias Olivera in the box, with Lukaku stepping up from 12 yards to net his fourth Serie A goal of the season.
Napoli continued to push for a third goal to secure the victory, with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia going closest but saw his effort saved by Emil Audero.
But the points were sealed in the 86th minute when Lukaku turned provider once again, holding off his marker before slipping through substitute David Neres who slotted home with a fine finish to extend Napoli's lead at the top of the standings to four points.
Data Debrief: Lukaku continues Conte love story
Lukaku has been a player reborn under Conte's stewardship. The Belgian is the player who has been involved in the most goals in his first five appearances for Napoli in Serie A since the Italian top-flight returned to 20 teams (since 2004/05) with three goals and four assists.
He has also managed to better his assist tally for the whole of last season, managing just three in 32 appearances for Roma last term.
McTominay's goal after 26 seconds is the third-fastest scored by Napoli since the start of a Serie A match in the three points for a win era, after Hirving Lozano's goal against Hellas Verona in 2021 (nine seconds) and Ezequiel Lavezzi's goal against Genoa in 2008 (25 seconds).
Maresca: Chelsea 'not ready' to compete for trophies with Man City and Arsenal
Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea "are not ready" to compete for major trophies against Manchester City and Arsenal this season.
The Blues have made a strong start to life under Maresca, losing just two of their 10 matches so far.
They are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, most recently seeing off Gent 4-2 in their Conference League opener on Thursday.
So far, Chelsea have scored 27 goals under the Italian, with 15 of those coming in the league, outperforming their 12.2 expected goals (xG), and only failed to score in their opening Premier League match against City.
However, Maresca has insisted people should not get carried away by Chelsea's recent form, playing down their chances of lifting any silverware this campaign.
"I really don't think we can compete with City or Arsenal," Maresca said.
"I really don't think that, because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same manager for nine years and Arsenal for five years. If you want to compete for big things, you need that time.
"After Arsenal beat PSG [in the Champions League] they asked Luis Enrique, and he said the same thing, that Arsenal have had the same manager for five years and [PSG] only a year and a half.
"Imagine us, only three months… so it's a huge difference. So, I am really convinced we cannot compete with those clubs."
Before Maresca's appointment, Mauricio Pochettino only spent a season at Stamford Bridge, while Graham Potter before him was only in the position for just under seven months.
After another busy transfer window for Chelsea saw them bring in 13 players, Maresca has urged for patience as they continue to find their footing in the early stages of his tenure.
"The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that," he added.
“There is no timeframe because you can continue to improve and add solutions to things always.”
Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at home on Sunday in their final match before the international break.
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